New Scientist - it just gets worse and worse

[athon]

I used to love reading this mag. I still do appreciate some of its articles every now and then. But it is truly becoming trashier by the issue.

Here's an online article that is truly mind-boggling (http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427312.800-dream-job-2-exotic-psychologist.html).

Worse still are the comments below. I'd respond, but it's a lost cause. It does, however, indicate clearly who New Scientist's audience is; appreciators of pseudoscience.

Athon

[Ducky]

Why is it all woo practitioners always start out their blather with "I was always skeptical..."?

Either you weren't skeptical, or you're a knowing fraud. Possibly some third option, but the cynic in me sticks with those two.

[Snixtor]

I wonder if the article heading "dream job" could be construed as a tongue-in-cheek remark regarding the nature of the work? As in, you'd be dreaming if you think this is a "job".

[Third Eye Open]

Why is it all woo practitioners always start out their blather with "I was always skeptical..."?

Either you weren't skeptical, or you're a knowing fraud. Possibly some third option, but the cynic in me sticks with those two.

'For all we know...' is another good one. I can't think of a time when those words were followed by anything other than navel gazing bs.

[athon]

Why is it all woo practitioners always start out their blather with "I was always skeptical..."?

Either you weren't skeptical, or you're a knowing fraud. Possibly some third option, but the cynic in me sticks with those two.

It's the dual definition of the word 'skeptic', I think. 'I was skeptical' in that case means 'I didn't believe before, but now I do'. For us, it's not a contradiction to say 'I'm skeptical, and I believe it'.

Athon

[plong]

The last sentence says it all "there is an interest in anomalous experiences as they could be symptomatic of an underlying disorder, such as schizophrenia" - puts it on the psychiatrists couch where it should be!

[arthwollipot]

I still read it. I got hooked back when they did their "Inside Science" segment - it was the first explanation of relativity that I actually understand.

I have found, however, that the amount that I read has gradually converged on "Feedback" over time.

[a_unique_person]

I bought it for my teenage son to read. He just browses it from time to time, as do all of us. When I see something like that, it's easy to turn the page. The standards are being compromised to boost sales, and I think a concerted effort should be made to make the owners know that there are disattisfied customers out there, but for what it does, there is not much competition. SA is too advanced for the average younger reader, the newspapers are far worse.

[BenBurch]

Maybe we need to found a science magazine? "Young Scientist"

[Shrike]

Maybe we need to found a science magazine? "Young Scientist"
We had one here - Kijk. Still exists, but I haven't looked into one for over 20 years.
You knew back then when you said at school that you read this, how your class mates looked at you (NERD!).

[The Drain]

I've just read the article in the magazine itself. I don't think it's such a big deal. It's in a pull-out section for graduates talking about careers in science.

Even in that context (i.e., aimed at people who are committing their lives to science, unlike me one of the great unwashed) the piece in question still reads like a scientist doing her job; as emphasised by the closing sentence: "From a clinical point of view, there is an interest in anomalous experiences as they could be symptomatic of an underlying disorder, such as schizophrenia"

[athon]

I've just read the article in the magazine itself. I don't think it's such a big deal. It's in a pull-out section for graduates talking about careers in science.

I don't think it is so much any claims in the article itself, but rather my difficulty in separating an article from its intended demographic. I read it with an understanding that people who would see such a thing as scientific would appreciate its angle.

Athon